Parliament had passed the National Health Service Bill, promising free, womb-to-tomb medical care for every Briton (TIME, April 1).* Now it was up to the doctors. Last week their answer came in: by a 23,110-to-18,972 vote, the British Medical Association said No.
Health Minister Aneurin Bevan had worked hard to win the doctors over. On his side were the prestigious Royal College of Physicians, a majority of medical men in the military services, and most low-income medicos. To reassure opponents, the bill left open to negotiation the key questions of pay and terms of employment under the plan (the B.M.A. vote was...
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